


Mass Effect: The (Very) Short Version

by TheTimeTravellingHufflepuff



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everybody Dies, Gen, M/M, Sorry Not Sorry, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 09:46:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17423543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTimeTravellingHufflepuff/pseuds/TheTimeTravellingHufflepuff
Summary: What if the beacon never activated for Shepard on Eden Prime?





	Mass Effect: The (Very) Short Version

The first mission of the Normandy had not been a total catastrophe. But it hadn't been a victory either. Yes, they had retrieved the Prothean beacon but Jenkins and Nihlus had both died, the Geth had apparently come back and a rogue Spectre had been helping them. Also, nobody had been able to comprehend the beacon and its function. Contrary to the Mars ruins that helped the humans finding the Charon relay, this beacon seemed to be meant to deliver a message, but as no one was able to understand it, it was possible that it wasn’t even what it was for.

Maybe it had been actually a catastrophe. Probably.

Yeah, it most probably had been, thought John Shepard, as he remembered the more than massive ship that they all thought belonged to Saren Arterius, traitor that he was. A ship that wasn’t actually a ship at all.

The Commander and Captain Anderson had tried to convinced both Ambassador Udina and the Citadel Council to let them and the other members of the Normandy investigate the Saren-and-the-Geth situation but they had been shut off. No one wanted to believe that a Spectre could or would betray the Council. And that’s how, Shepard didn’t become a Spectre himself, though one of the main reasons for that first mission had actually been for him being evaluated by Nihlus for a future appointment as a Spectre.

Not that he cared. After all, he never was a willing candidate, it was all a political move by Udina and his obsession with the supposed grandeur of humanity. Shepard, himself, was happy being an Alliance soldier.

So, the Normandy crew had been forbidden to investigate Saren’s whereabouts but it didn’t stop the Commander (encouraged by his Captain). He had soon been asked to stop his investigation “or else” by no other than the Turian Councillor, but not before he met another native of Palaven. Garrus Vakarian, a blasé C-Sec officer, was also suspicious of Saren’s activities; and also forbidden to act on those suspicions.

Meeting Tali'Zorah nar Rayya had been a happy accident. Shepard and Garrus had been exiting Choras’ Den when they stumble upon the young Quarian fighting mercenaries. Gentlemen that they were, the obviously jumped into the fight, even if the girl didn’t need them to, as she was more than capable with a shotgun and some fancy drone.

The Council had simply refused to receive them, even when they swore that they had irrefutable proofs that Saren was a traitor and a Geth ally. After that, they had stopped trying to convince the Triumvirate of assholes that wouldn’t accept that they had been betrayed.

The Normandy had returned to the Alliance, now with to alien members on board, as both Garrus and Tali decided to follow the Commander. He didn’t why they chose to stay with him but he was happy with their decision, as they soon became his best friends.

No, the first mission of the Normandy had not been a total catastrophe in retrospect, as he gave him a pair of wonderful friends, and something more with another of the members of the crew. Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko was everything to the Commander.

It hadn’t always been simple, especially at the beginning. The regs – and Kaidan love for following the rules – had been an obstacle to their affair, but Anderson, who always had a soft spot for Shepard, and promise to tell on them if they were discreet enough, had encouraged them.

A great man, that Anderson. He would be missed, thought Shepard. Well, he would have been if the world was not just five minutes from its end.

Damn Reapers. And damn Protheans for not making their beacon more user-friendly. Also, damn council for not listening when they were told that Saren was a fucking traitor. Well, now the three councillors were dead, so there was always that. Shepard would have celebrated but he was a little bit occupied dying himself.

The Normandy had been docked on the Citadel when Sovereign, the first Reaper, the ship-that-wasn't-a-ship-and-didn't-belonged-to-Saren-at-all, had arrived. Every member of the crew, even poor now-dead-Joker had armed themselves and had fought the Geth that accompanied the rogue Spectre. They actually killed a lot of the synthetic bastards but it soon appeared to be a futile battle, when dozens of Reapers arrived, bringing armies of husks and other monstrosities with them.

So, maybe the first mission of the Normandy hadn’t been a total catastrophe, but its last one sure was an absolute disaster with the entirety of its crew – and probably most of the galaxy’s population – dying, thought Shepard before exhaling his last breath, his fingers intertwined with Kaidan’s cold ones.


End file.
